Atari

Steve Jobs' 1974 memo to Atari to be auctioned

Before he co-founded Apple, Steve Jobs worked briefly at Atari, helping the game maker improve design.

Sotheby's is auctioning a handwritten memo penned in 1974 by then-19-year-old Jobs that describes changes Atari could make to its World Cup Soccer arcade game to add fun and functionality.

The present report, written for his supervisor Stephen Bristow, was meant to improve the functionality and fun of World Cup, a coin arcade-game with four simple buttons and an evolution from Atari's Pong game. Job's report is stamped "All-One Farm Design," a name appropriated from the commune he frequented … Read more

The 404 1,057: Where we'd rather have an IPA (podcast)

Sorry about the rather short show today, but the Facebook IPO just started trading and we have to make way for a special edition of Reporter's Roundtable featuring our own "Aunt" Jill Schlesinger, Andy Rachleff of Wealthfront, and Tom Merritt. Check it out for in-depth discussion about the offering!

We'll be back on Monday with a week of new episodes, but you can stay in touch on our Instagram page--look us up @the404.… Read more

Commodore founder Jack Tramiel dies at 83

Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International and former CEO of Atari International, died on Sunday at the age of 83. He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing, according to Forbes.

Famous for saying that computers should be built "for masses, not the classes," Tramiel played an important role in the early days of personal computing and video gaming, as his company introduced a line of powerful but affordable home computers, including the popular Commodore 64. The latter became the best-selling home computer of all time, with an estimated 20 to 30 million units sold, … Read more

An arcadian ode to the old arcade

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--There was a time, not all that long ago, when the only way to play a decent (or indeed most any) "computer game" was to seek one out at a local pizza parlor or bowling alley--or, if you were lucky and your neighborhood had been blessed with such an establishment, the local arcade.

In fact, computer games weren't computer games yet. They were video games, or arcade games.

I can remember the excitement my friends and I felt when our neighborhood suddenly witnessed the arrival of a "real" video arcade. Space Invaders had been around for a while by then (how cool was it that the Pretenders had recorded an instrumental in its honor, complete with a sampling of the game's throbbing, threatening sound effects?). But the newly opened Louie's brought us a startling array of bright, beeping, and then-revolutionary games with strange and thrilling names like Pac-Man and Centipede.… Read more

Xbox co-creator channels arcade classics at mobile-game startup

Innovative Leisure is a startup with a singular purpose: Create great mobile-gaming experiences. To accomplish that mission, co-founder Seamus Blackley has assembled a crew of industry veterans who know a thing or two about developing popular titles.

The team includes the developers responsible for arcade classics like Asteroids and Centipede; Battlezone; Major Havoc; and Missile Command. In other words, some of the most popular titles in gaming history.

The coming together of the startup has been largely credited to Blackley, who also helped launch the original Xbox at Microsoft before leaving the company in 2002. So one might question whether … Read more

How many crates can you collect?

Super Crate Box is a maddeningly addictive arcade platformer with a very simple concept, but manages to keep you coming back for more. Using left and right directional buttons on the left and buttons for jumping and firing on the right, your only mission is to stay alive and collect weapon crates. When you collect one, another appears randomly on the map and you receive a random weapon for fighting off the endless rampage of deadly monsters.

Super Crate Box is one of those games that is highly rage-inducing. Even the slightest touch by one of the enemies ends your … Read more

Old tech bands together for 'House of the Rising Sun' cover

First, there was "The Imperial March" and now, there's "House of the Rising Sun."

The traditional folk song is just the latest tune to be covered by an unlikely group of musicians: old computer equipment. YouTube user bd594 assembled a handful of old tech to re-create the tune made famous by the English rock group The Animals in the mid-1960s.

In his video description, bd594 explains that he used an Atari 800XL with an EiCO Oscilloscope to play the part of the organ, while the combination of an HP Scanjet 3P, Adaptec SCSI card, and an Ubuntu v9.10-powered computer provided the "vocals." The guitar section was performed by a Texas Instrument Ti-99/4A computer with a Tektronix Oscilloscope, and a hard drive powered by a PiC16F84A microcontroller created the bass, drum, and cymbals section.

Each instrument was recorded separately and then mixed; bd594 insists no sampling and audio effects were used in the recording session. What results is a pretty impressive and fresh take on the song. … Read more

Asteroids Gunner blasts onto iPhone

Asteroids Gunner was released by Atari today in the iTunes App Store, taking some cues from the company's arcade classic, Asteroids, and adding contemporary gaming mechanics that might make it a hit for iOS gamers.

When I think of the classic arcade games of old, the titles that pop into my head are games like Pac-Man, Defender, Galaga, and Asteroids, among many others. You can still find many of these games using emulation software on desktops or purchase them in newer iOS collections like Atari's Greatest Hits. But today Atari released a sequel to Asteroids (first released in 1979) called Asteroids Gunner, and it has just the right mix of action and contemporary gameplay elements to make it a must-have for those who like old arcade hits.… Read more

Intel's newest lands in an old standard: Commodore 64

Apple surprised many when it introduced quad-core processors into its MacBook line for the first time in February. But a Commodore 64 packing quad-core?

For the uninitiated, the Commodore 64 Keyboard PC was introduced back in 1982 packing a MOS Technology 6510 1MHz (yes, that's one megahertz) chip running the Commodore kernal accessed via BASIC commands.

That model competed with the Apple II and Atari computers.

Well, a lot has changed in 30 years. After resurrecting the Commodore name in April of 2010, the company came out with an Intel Atom-based design in April of this year. That's … Read more

Wanted: A game controller as diverse as the iPad (the Atari Arcade, reviewed)

We said it before. We'll say it again. Louder, this time.

It's time for an iPad game controller.

And not just a joystick novelty like the Ion iCade or the Atari Arcade, both of them intriguing but incredibly limited ways of going retro. The Atari Arcade Powered by Duo, a joystick accessory made by Discovery Bay Games, has a joystick, four buttons, and a 30-pin connector. However, it only works with the Atari Greatest Hits collection of 100 Atari 2600 and old, old-school arcade games. The iCade, a far larger assemble-yourself cabinet, is compatible with a handful of other motley games plus Atari's app, and that's it.

It's clear something else is needed.

EA and 2K Sports are already experimenting with iPhone-as-controller: both FIFA 12 and NBA 2K12 have downloadable apps that turn a local iPhone or iPod Touch into a multibutton controller. That's hardly a solution: the touch controls are no easier to find and use than the iPad's onscreen virtual buttons--in fact, they're even harder to locate when the iPhone in question is being held in your lap. The solution is simple. … Read more